About Us

Gamblers Book Club

We’ve moved in with the Gambler’s General Store at 800 South Main St, between Charleston and Fremont. We are excited to be back downtown. Two famous institutions together!

Our new address:
800 South Main St.
between Charleston & Fremont

We are one of the most famous gaming institutions in Las Vegas—and with more than 3,000 titles, the largest gaming book store in the world. During its 47-year history as the reigning authority on gambling publications, the GBC has hosted numerous book signings by internationally famous gaming authors, including Nick Pileggi, author of Casino and Wise Guys; thoroughbred handicapper Andy Beyer, author of The Winning Horseplayer; Ken Uston, author of Million Dollar Blackjack; and poker legend Amarillo Slim, author of Play Poker to Win.

Through the doors of the GBC have passed virtually all the legends of gambling. On any given day, you might find poker legend Doyle Brunson talking about his bookSuper System or the exploits of his life in the rough and tumble days of yore, or handicapping icon Lem Banker chatting with gambling historian Howard Schwartz, famed consultant and figurehead of the GBC. Casino owners Steve Wynn, Jackie Gaughan, and Jack Binion have purchased books on casino management, surveillance and customer service. Ex-mobsters, FBI agents, best-selling authors, legendary screenwriters such as William Goldman (who wrote the screenplay forButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), and gaming researchers regularly shop here. The GBC was even credited in the hit movie Rounders.

John and Edna Luckman founded the Gambler’s Book Club in their home in 1964 as a hobby. They started with 18 titles on gambling that they sold through mail order. When John retired as a floor person at the Tropicana, they rented a storefront on Charleston near Main in Las Vegas. The Luckmans began publishing gaming books soon after opening the GBC, including several titles that John wrote—a library that eventually would number more than 250 works. Their company, GBC Press, published the first hold’em poker book in 1976, David Sklansky’s seminal work, Hold’em Poker, and the first pai gow poker book ever. John Scarne, Walter Gibson, Sonny Reizner, and the great Harry Houdini are just a few GBC Press authors. Later, the store was renamed Gambler's Book Shop so that shoppers wouldn't think they had to join a club, but we have restored the original name to Gambler's Book Club.

The GBC now features its widest selection ever of gaming titles, DVDs and software, and has added accessories such as cards, dice, gaming felts, memorabilia—plus a wide range of biographies, Vegas interest items, games such as chess and backgammon, and Mafia titles.

After more than 30 years on Charleston and 11th in Downtown Las Vegas, the GBC is back downtown! Visit us at our new home in the Gambler’s General Store, replete with 8,000 square feet of every imaginable gaming item. More than 500 different decks of playing cards, every shape, color, and iteration of dice, a massive variety of chips, and a full stock of gaming tables and supplies for home and casino use, the more than $1 million in inventory is as much a museum and treat for gambler’s and Las Vegas aficionados as it is a serious store for gamers. Store hours are 9 til 5:30 Monday-Saturday, and 9 til 4:30 on Sundays.

Next time you’re in Las Vegas, come visit the most famous gambling store in the world. You never know what gaming celebrity you’ll run into!